The Elements of Music

1. The Elements of Music How are the elements of music shared through notation?

2. What is music? • Music is organized sound • Music is made up of four basic elements • Rhythm • Pitch • Timbre (tone color) • Dynamics (volume)

3. The Staff • Music is written on a staff. The staff always begins with a Clef (treble or bass) and uses bar lines to separate the notes into measures • This Grand Staff uses both Treble Clef (top line) and Bass Clef (bottom line) and is made of four measures

4. Rhythm Rhythms are combinations of notes (sounds) and rests (silences). In these examples, a Quarter Note and Quarter Rest each equal one beat. Eighth Notes equal two sounds on one beat. When we read them we say “Du” for each quarter note and “Du De” for each pair of Eighth Notes.

5. Reading Rhythms • Read this rhythm using the syllables Du and Du De. Remember to keep a steady beat as you go.

6. Additional Rhythms

7. Notes on the staff • Pitches are notated on the staff, using the lines and spaces to show higher or lower pitches. Each space of the staff relates to a note name

8. Pitch Here is the same rhythm, with pitches moving up by steps Notice that all the notes are on one line of the staff. Notice that the notes move up on the staff as the pitch goes up. Here is a rhythm all on one pitch

9. Timbre • Timbre is the unique sound of an instrument or voice. • The timbre of a trumpet is different from the timbre of a violin. • Timbre helps us distinguish different instruments or voices when we listen to music.

10. Dynamics • Dynamics is another word for volume. • The volume, or dynamics, of a piece of music helps to add to the mood of the music. • Dynamics are described as forte (loud), mezzo forte (medium loud) mezzo piano (medium soft), and piano (soft).

11. Putting it together All of these elements work together to make the music that you hear every day.